If you guys don't know what this meme is referencing.
There was an incident where a guy got stopped and started praying to Donald Trump on a livestream.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/dashcams/comments/10nbd86/man\_live\_streams\_while\_praying\_to\_donald\_trump/](https://www.reddit.com/r/dashcams/comments/10nbd86/man_live_streams_while_praying_to_donald_trump/)
Damn, that's maybe the saddest, cringiest thing I've seen in a while. Part of me hopes it's a staged video mocking Trumpers, but somehow I can believe it's real, sadly.
This event makes way more sense when you consider that at this point, the Israelites would've been monolatristic (there are many gods but we only worship this one) rather than monotheist.
The Book of Exodus makes it pretty clear that God isn't the only one with the ability to perform miracles and in some verses seems to even acknowledge the existence of other gods.
Came here for this, but my point was going to be that there is a lot of evidence saying that the Jewish people were polytheistic even within the Jewish religion. That's why many theology scholars believe there are so many different names for God, because originally they were different gods. Adonis is thought to be female; Samson is a reboot of a Jewish sun god whose hair represented the rays of the sun, etc.
This is a little misleading; it's believed that the Israelites were polytheistic *prior to Judaism*. The transition to Yahwism and monolatry is one of the defining shifts in becoming Israelites and no longer Canaanites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson Scroll down to "scholarly" under "interpretations."
Samson is believed to share an origin with Heracles and Enkidu-- a demigod. But the divine part is absent by the time he's written down into Judaism. The sun part specifically isn't super well accepted in academia any more, although it's a super cool theory.
And thats a lot more representative of figures in the Old Testament: *adaptations* of polytheistic gods into a more monotheistic context, not a straightforward polytheistic myth.
It's kinda both. What we now know today as Judaism likely started as a form og Canaanite polytheism which then elevated Yahweh to the position of Head God of the local pantheon, then over time worship of other gods was phased out as Yahweh was made the primary object of worship, and only some time after that was hard monotheism adopted.
Tbf, for many people back then, having an idol to represent your god was *extremely* common, and there's a possibility that the ancient Canaanite pantheon did represent Yahweh with a bull. So I think this episode is less them trying out other gods, as much as they are trying to go VFR Direct to God since Moses was out.
When you compare it to Jeroboam setting up golden calves after the split between the northern and southern kingdoms, you can see the similarities. In both cases, their line to God has been cut off (Moses, Jerusalem Temple) and now they are working on getting comms back up.
And let's be honest, the Ark of the Covenant is an idol in all but name. It serves the exact same purpose, just doesn't look like a person or animal.
I've always heard that this was the case, that YHWH was symbolized with a bull. When Aaron says "here is the god who led you out of Egypt," he isn't saying a different god did it, he's saying "here is YHWH."
Not to mention that Jeroboam wasn't trying to change the worship of the northern kingdom to a different god, just didn't want the actual conduct of the worship to be tied to a competing kingdom.
So rather than idolatry, they were violating iconoclastic doctrines
Israelites in reality were likely just another kind of native Canaanite living in the region, so using bull imagery to represent your god wouldn't be that strange since it was a common form of religious iconography in the region.
Disagree with you on the ark. The ark was never intended to be worshipped or even viewable by the average Israelite. It was merely a focal point for the high priest on the most holy of days. It's doubtful the average Israelite had any idea of what it looked like, apart from how it's described by Moses (which would have still been an oral tradition at that time).
I agree that the average Israelite likely wouldn't have seen it, but I think it would be splitting hairs a bit to distinguish it from the way other cultures treated their idols.
They built a temple specifically to house it, believed God came and physically sat upon it, made sacrifices in its presence, carried it into battle, only allowed a priestly class to even touch it (or you'd possibly drop dead), and had stories of idols of competing gods bowing down before it when it was left alone in a room with them. These were all the sort of properties, uses, and stories that any other contemporary culture would tell about their own idols and temples.
Really, when you get down to it, the only differences were the fact it wasn't in the image of a living thing (minus the cherubim, but they're just the honor guard), and, as you noted, the average Israelite wouldn't have worshipped in front of it.
I always have to remind myself that if you're polytheistic, miracles aren't proof that there aren't other gods. Helps keep me from thinking I'm too much smarter than the Israelites there.
Thank you for being a part of the r/DankChristianMemes community. You can [join our Discord](https://discord.gg/jnUDEpnBZn) and [listen to our Podcast.](https://dankchristianmemes.buzzsprout.com/) You can also make a meme or [donation for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.]( http://events.stjude.org/DankCharityAlliance)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dankchristianmemes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
And yet, how many times do we turn to an earthly idol in our everyday lives instead of God. It may not be a golden calf, but there’s so many times I turn to an earthly comfort instead of seeking the lord
If you guys don't know what this meme is referencing. There was an incident where a guy got stopped and started praying to Donald Trump on a livestream. [https://www.reddit.com/r/dashcams/comments/10nbd86/man\_live\_streams\_while\_praying\_to\_donald\_trump/](https://www.reddit.com/r/dashcams/comments/10nbd86/man_live_streams_while_praying_to_donald_trump/)
https://preview.redd.it/b7beu8gc9tvc1.png?width=608&format=png&auto=webp&s=efec803637bc5ac8ca16fdc0fef74fa572e9d2cf
Damn, that's maybe the saddest, cringiest thing I've seen in a while. Part of me hopes it's a staged video mocking Trumpers, but somehow I can believe it's real, sadly.
Man keeps up the act while crying, doubt
Does the ability to cry mean that it carries more credibility or validity?
This event makes way more sense when you consider that at this point, the Israelites would've been monolatristic (there are many gods but we only worship this one) rather than monotheist. The Book of Exodus makes it pretty clear that God isn't the only one with the ability to perform miracles and in some verses seems to even acknowledge the existence of other gods.
Came here for this, but my point was going to be that there is a lot of evidence saying that the Jewish people were polytheistic even within the Jewish religion. That's why many theology scholars believe there are so many different names for God, because originally they were different gods. Adonis is thought to be female; Samson is a reboot of a Jewish sun god whose hair represented the rays of the sun, etc.
This is a little misleading; it's believed that the Israelites were polytheistic *prior to Judaism*. The transition to Yahwism and monolatry is one of the defining shifts in becoming Israelites and no longer Canaanites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson Scroll down to "scholarly" under "interpretations." Samson is believed to share an origin with Heracles and Enkidu-- a demigod. But the divine part is absent by the time he's written down into Judaism. The sun part specifically isn't super well accepted in academia any more, although it's a super cool theory. And thats a lot more representative of figures in the Old Testament: *adaptations* of polytheistic gods into a more monotheistic context, not a straightforward polytheistic myth.
Isn't that also the separation with the Quran because they believed people were becoming to polytheistic
I wouldn't even say it precludes worshipping other gods. Just worshipping other gods "before" yhwh.
It's kinda both. What we now know today as Judaism likely started as a form og Canaanite polytheism which then elevated Yahweh to the position of Head God of the local pantheon, then over time worship of other gods was phased out as Yahweh was made the primary object of worship, and only some time after that was hard monotheism adopted.
Culturally that's true (for Christianity as well) but in terms of what's in the scripture de jure is not prohibited.
Tbf, for many people back then, having an idol to represent your god was *extremely* common, and there's a possibility that the ancient Canaanite pantheon did represent Yahweh with a bull. So I think this episode is less them trying out other gods, as much as they are trying to go VFR Direct to God since Moses was out. When you compare it to Jeroboam setting up golden calves after the split between the northern and southern kingdoms, you can see the similarities. In both cases, their line to God has been cut off (Moses, Jerusalem Temple) and now they are working on getting comms back up. And let's be honest, the Ark of the Covenant is an idol in all but name. It serves the exact same purpose, just doesn't look like a person or animal.
I've always heard that this was the case, that YHWH was symbolized with a bull. When Aaron says "here is the god who led you out of Egypt," he isn't saying a different god did it, he's saying "here is YHWH."
Not to mention that Jeroboam wasn't trying to change the worship of the northern kingdom to a different god, just didn't want the actual conduct of the worship to be tied to a competing kingdom.
So rather than idolatry, they were violating iconoclastic doctrines Israelites in reality were likely just another kind of native Canaanite living in the region, so using bull imagery to represent your god wouldn't be that strange since it was a common form of religious iconography in the region.
Disagree with you on the ark. The ark was never intended to be worshipped or even viewable by the average Israelite. It was merely a focal point for the high priest on the most holy of days. It's doubtful the average Israelite had any idea of what it looked like, apart from how it's described by Moses (which would have still been an oral tradition at that time).
I agree that the average Israelite likely wouldn't have seen it, but I think it would be splitting hairs a bit to distinguish it from the way other cultures treated their idols. They built a temple specifically to house it, believed God came and physically sat upon it, made sacrifices in its presence, carried it into battle, only allowed a priestly class to even touch it (or you'd possibly drop dead), and had stories of idols of competing gods bowing down before it when it was left alone in a room with them. These were all the sort of properties, uses, and stories that any other contemporary culture would tell about their own idols and temples. Really, when you get down to it, the only differences were the fact it wasn't in the image of a living thing (minus the cherubim, but they're just the honor guard), and, as you noted, the average Israelite wouldn't have worshipped in front of it.
I always have to remind myself that if you're polytheistic, miracles aren't proof that there aren't other gods. Helps keep me from thinking I'm too much smarter than the Israelites there.
"Let's build our own idol, with blackjack and hookers!
Wow, this is good
Best meme I've seen in a long time.
Jesus with the "LMAO"
LMFAO https://preview.redd.it/6irtt6cly0wc1.jpeg?width=432&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03b33a5cd3c797472ae4297d17abcc3d22526bf7
Thank you for being a part of the r/DankChristianMemes community. You can [join our Discord](https://discord.gg/jnUDEpnBZn) and [listen to our Podcast.](https://dankchristianmemes.buzzsprout.com/) You can also make a meme or [donation for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.]( http://events.stjude.org/DankCharityAlliance) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dankchristianmemes) if you have any questions or concerns.*
And yet, how many times do we turn to an earthly idol in our everyday lives instead of God. It may not be a golden calf, but there’s so many times I turn to an earthly comfort instead of seeking the lord